The Obsessed were formed in the late 1970's by teenage friends Scott Weinrich, aka "Wino (2)", (guitar) and Mark Laue (bass) along with drummer Dave Flood (aka "Dave The Slave") and guitarist/vocalist Johnny Reese in Maryland, USA. Over time, the line-up would fluxuate, with Reese leaving, and vocalist Vance Bockis and guitarist Norman Lawson passing through the ranks. Finally, as a trio consisting of Weinrich (now handling vocals and guitar), Laue, and Flood, the band released their debut 7", commonly known as "Sodden Jackyl". The band made a name for themselves in and around Maryland, even gaining a following in Washington DC's famous hardcore punk scene, and made an appearance on a "Metal Massacre" compilation. Flood was eventually replaced by Ed Gulli and this line-up recorded a tape together in 1985 but were unable to find anyone to release it. Faced with a lack of success and label disinterest, the group disbanded shortly afterwards. However, word of the band reached Saint Vitus, whose singer, Scott Reagers, had announced his departure from the band, and they asked Wino to join. The Obsessed tape began making the rounds in tape-trading circles and, soon enough, Hellhound Records, Saint Vitus's German record label, offered to release it. To support its release, Wino put a new version of the band, consisting of drummer Greg Rogers and bassist Scott Reeder (who replaced Danny Hood, who was killed in a motorcycle accident shortly after joining the Obsessed), for a tour. However, after the tour, Wino decided to quit Saint Vitus for reasons that remain a point of contention between Wino and Vitus leader Dave Chandler. Wino maintained that he received Chandler's blessing for the released of the Obsessed album and subsequent tour but upon returning home was unhappy with the new material Chandler was writing and upset that the band chose Don Dokken to produce their next album. Chandler claimed that he was apprehensive about the Obsessed project and that Wino lost interest in Saint Vitus because of it. In any case, the Obsessed was now Wino's full-time band the group recorded "Lunar Womb" for Hellhound in 1991. Dissatisfied with Hellhound, Wino accepted a record deal with Columbia Records for the band's next album "The Church Within", which saw Guy Pinhas replace Scott Reeder. However, life on a major label was not much better. The label pulled promotion for the album just as it was being released and it was a commercial failure. The band soon split and, for a time, Wino sank into substance abuse. However, he eventually managed to clean himself up and, after living for a number of years in Los Angeles, returned to Maryland were he fronted Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand before going solo. In 1999, Southern Lord Recordings put together an odds-and-ends collection called "Incarnate".

In February 2016, Wino announced that his band Spirit Caravan would be adopting The Obsessed moniker while continuing to play material from both bands' catalogs.